BUFFALO — Villanova endured a nightmarish shooting performance but avoided an upset by 15th-seeded Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 73-53, at First Niagara Center on Thursday night.

The Wildcats, the No. 2 seed in the East Region, missed 17 of their first 20 shots and had a nearly five-minute stretch midway through the first half in which they did not score a point. The Panthers grabbed an early lead, 21-16.

The Wildcats stabilized a bit and went on an 11-2 run to end the first half. Still, they were 0 for 16 from the 3-point line to start the game and struggled to build much separation until the final minutes.

With 10 minutes remaining, Villanova pushed its lead to double digits for the first time. Milwaukee refused to let the game get out of hand, pressing after made baskets and attacking the Wildcats’ relatively susceptible interior. But five Villanova players wound up scoring in double figures, led by Darrun Hilliard’s 16, and the Wildcats rebounded to shoot 62 percent in the second half.

Still, Villanova’s first-half shooting woes could be slightly alarming, given how the Wildcats also struggled to make shots in their loss to Seton Hall in the Big East tournament (they shot just 37.9 percent) and how much they relied on that aspect of their game this season.

Coach Jay Wright called the Seton Hall loss “a jolt to our system” on Wednesday, adding that he did not think his team was ready to play that game. He believed the loss had renewed some of the Wildcats’ fire.